radio
Technology operator warns of VHF off in favor of DAB +
A transmission mast in Visselhövede (Lower Saxony) in front of the starry sky. The Visselhövede transmitter is a broadcasting station for radio and television. Photo: Daniel Reinhardt/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
For years there has been a debate about switching off ultra shortwave. Do we still need the energy guzzler FM when DAB+ achieves a much greater range? An expert warns against a hasty end.
Germany’s leading operator of radio transmitters warns against the complete switching off of VHF technology in favor of DAB+.
“In the end, DAB + is a bridging technology: At the end of the 2030s, in the 2040s there will only be streaming in the masses,” said the managing director of Uplink Network, Michael Radomski, in Düsseldorf of the German Press Agency.
His company operates 800 FM stations and 10 DAB+ stations. According to Radomski, FM and DAB+ are compatible and have different strengths. VHF is ideal for smaller transmission areas of private broadcasters. DAB+ has its strength in the large national range. “If an either/or policy is made, then it is a threat to media diversity and media plurality in Germany.”
For years there has been a debate about switching off ultra shortwave in the near future. At the beginning of the week, Deutschlandradio director Stefan Raue emphasized that this had become an increasingly pressing issue due to the rise in energy costs: “We will not be able to afford two terrestrial transmission channels in the long term. The signs are clearer than two or three years ago.” Raue had referred to the “current crises and the immense price increases” and described FM as an “energy guzzler”.
The market also has answers
Radomski countered: “There are always many arguments as to why DAB+ would be better. But the market gives us many answers to open questions. If DAB+ were so beneficial, people would throw away their FM radio and buy DAB+ radios and stop listening to FM. But the opposite is true.” Broadcasters also took advantage of opportunities to reduce VHF energy costs. At the same time, the Uplink Network boss emphasized that his company was completely open to technology. “We are currently building many DAB+ systems.”
Nevertheless, a hasty VHF off would not make sense, also with a view to the requirements of civil protection, said Radomski. “Depending on the various studies, we have 90 to 150 million FM radios on the market that are running. Even the federal government recommends that in the event of a crisis, you should have a battery-powered VHF radio at home in addition to water, flour and dry food. Never again will a medium in Germany have the technical and actual reach of VHF. Never again. DAB+ can’t even begin to do it.”